Community Partners
Our Co-Founders
Scott Canfield
CO-FOUNDER
Scott has a decade of experience in public education in local school districts as a teacher and administrator. Most recently, Scott has served as assistant principal at West Seattle High School where he has partnered with the City of Seattle Dept. of Education and Early Learning, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound, YMCA, National Center for Restorative Justice, and other CBOs to dramatically reduce discipline and academic opportunity gaps.
Russell & Ciara Wilson
INVESTORS
Russell and Ciara are on a mission to change the world, one child at a time. In 2014 they founded Why Not You Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to fighting poverty through education and empowering youth to lead with a why not you attitude.
When Russell and Ciara were presented an opportunity to be a founding and funding partner of a free-of-charge public charter school, they knew they needed to find a way to help. Russell and Ciara worked with their nonprofit to help provide nearly $2M of financial assistance. Their generosity was reciprocated by naming the school, Why Not You Academy!
Russell and Ciara are proud of the Academy and what it has accomplished. They are not operational partners, nor board members of Why Not You Academy.
Our community partners are critical to meeting the needs of our students and providing them with the real world experiences that will best prepare them for success after they leave high school.
These partnerships are integral to the Why Not You Academy approach and our ability to reimagine what a free, high quality, public education looks like when it is built on a foundation of deeper learning, strong mentorship, and individualized pathways.
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College Unbound
College Unbound (CU), focuses on adult learners who have faced significant barriers to attending college. CU coordinates courses, field studies, and in-depth project work to help students develop field-specific knowledge and skills that encourage deep learning. CU fills a unique niche in postsecondary education for returning adult learners with a Bachelor’s Degree program designed around an innovative, personalized, interest/project-based curriculum model.
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Big Picture Learning
Why Not You Academy is a proud affiliate of the Big Picture Learning network. Big Picture's vision is that all students live lives of their own design, supported by caring mentors and equitable opportunities to achieve their greatest potential.
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Glover Empower Mentoring
Glover Empower Mentoring (GEM) is a community-based nonprofit organization that offers mentoring and case management services to youth and young adults throughout King and Pierce Counties, by working together with state and local governments and municipalities, and other various community-based organizations.
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KD Hall Foundation
GIRLS ON THE RISE
The KD Hall Foundation has implemented an innovative, strength-based, and restorative Girls on the Rise (GOTR) leadership program for girls and young women ages 11-18 throughout the state of Washington, focusing on the traditionally marginalized South King County communities.
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nXu
WNYA partners with nXu to integrate a purpose-driven social-emotional curriculum for all students, through our Advisory block. Our approach is focused on identity-affirmation, culture building, purpose-driven vision and goal setting, social-emotional competency development, and trauma-informed practice.
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Why Not You Foundation
Founded by Russell Wilson in 2014, the Why Not You Foundtion is a nonprofit dedicated to education, children’s health, and fighting poverty, empowering today’s youth to lead with a “why not you” attitude. Their mission is to empower change in the world, one individual at a time, and one child at a time.
